Crimson Roses
by Snowberryxoxo
Summary: There once was a time when Klaus was just another human boy in his village and he was deeply in love with a girl by the name of Charlotte. But their love is not the only secret in their village and as they are revealed, they struggle to stay together...
1. Charlotte

**A/N: Hii, so here's a little funny oneshot where Klaus meets Charlotte and... well, you're going to have to read it to find out what happens xD**

**Disclaimer: (Sadly) I do not own the Vampire Diaries or any of its characters :'(**

**Enjoy!**

**xoxo Ascha**

**Crimson Roses - VD Oneshot**

Chapter 1:

Niklaus glanced carefully around before he pulled off his clothes and placed them on a large rock near the shore of the forest lake. It was a warm and sunny afternoon and albeit the nearby market would be filled with noisy traders by now, this place remained quiet and serene like always. He loved the peacefulness and how untouched the blooming nature around him was, which was why he hadn't even told his favourite older brother Elijah about the place. He knew that Elijah would accidentally or consciously tell either their siblings or a girl he fancied about it, so that was why this place was his secret and his secret alone.

Niklaus walked out in the lukewarm, but somewhat cooling water and swam towards the mid of the lake with nothing on his bare body to cover him. He made himself float on his back at the surface and looked up towards the clear blue sky. Not a cloud was visible to his eyes, but he liked it this way. He had always loved swimming around on warm summer days and particularly today it was very relieving for the 17-year-old hybrid to cool his body down.

"Now this is–"

The faint sound of a female giggle made him stop abruptly and look towards the shore where he spotted a figure run away with something in his or hers hands. He immediately swam back to the shore in fear of it being one of his exasperating older sisters, who just loved to rat him out every time he did something bad – which was almost every day (!)

However, when Niklaus reached the shore he immediately reached out for his clothes, but found nothing on the rock except for a crimson rose. His cheeks became flushed when he realised that a girl had seen him nude, but a part of him still found it quite amusing as well. He wondered who the girl was and why she was watching him in the first place. He ran his fingers through his wet, shoulder-long dark blond hair and carelessly walked in the direction he'd seen the girl run towards. He didn't care if he was walking around in the forest naked anymore, because the thought of finding the girl was far more interesting to him now.

Niklaus picked up on another faint giggle nearby and quietly walked towards the sound. He could hear the heartbeat of someone young and found the owner of the giggling sound. It was a 15-year-old looking girl with long and wavy dark brown hair, whom he actually knew who was. It was Charlotte – the daughter of another wealthy landowner in the village.

He knew for a fact that she hated him and it was mostly because of his antics. He would always tease her whenever she went to the orchard to gather all the fallen apples. He hid in the apple trees and waited for her to walk right under him, so he could drop apples down on her head. She would then cuss at him or try her best to ignore him even though he knew that she was secretly blushing and feeling embarrassed of his interest in her.

"Ah, I see… this is vengeance for all those apples, am I right?" he asked, stepping out from behind the bushes and revealing his very bare body.

For a moment Charlotte blushed at the sight of him and looked surprised of his confidence. He placed his hands on his waist, making her eyes travel further down and her cheeks to become red like the crimson rose in her hair. She forced herself to look only at his face, which only made the smug grin on his face widen.

"In a matter of fact, it is! Let's see how long it takes for you to find your clothes, Lord _Niklaus_!" Charlotte scoffed, knowingly that he hated to be called that.

However, Niklaus kept his composure and just walked up to her, taking a deliberate quick peek down her cleavage, which only made Charlotte blush and become even more frustrated with him.

"What if I don't fancy finding my clothes?" he asked teasingly.

Charlotte snorted and answered: "Well, then you'll have a lot of explaining to do since I told the whole village about this secret lake and a lot of the villagers are actually paying this place a visit soon, so…"

She giggled when she saw his face turn pale and his shocked facial expression, but her amusement was brief, for Niklaus suddenly moved towards her, making her flinch and run as fast as she could through the forest and back to the village. Niklaus ran after her with his enhanced speed and tackled her to the ground, but that only caused both of them to roll down a hill and land in a pool of mud with Niklaus lying on top of Charlotte.

"You are so going to pay for this, Charlotte! Tell me where my clothes are or I–"

"Or what? You will throw more apples on me? Niklaus, I reckon you're forgetting whose the one wearing clothes right now," Charlotte interrupted and pushed him off her, laughing as she fled from the pool, but her laughter stopped when she slipped in the mud and landed on her butt. Niklaus burst into laughter and suddenly didn't feel so embarrassed anymore. "Do not laugh of me! You infuriating, licentious–"

"_Charlotte!_" a familiar voice suddenly yelled.

Niklaus recognized it immediately and his face turned pale again. It was Adrienne – one of his older sisters and the sister he disliked the most. Charlotte sent him a smug look and was about to open her mouth, but he quickly jumped on her and held a mud smeared hand over her mouth much to her disliking. He signed for her to me quiet, but she just bit his hand, making him let out a growl that he sincerely hoped that Adrienne hadn't heard.

In desperation of being caught naked in the forest and then on top of Charlotte, whom his siblings all knew was his enemy number one, he did what he did best and pressed his lips against hers just before she could make her sound. Charlotte's eyes widened at first and she tried to push him away, but he held her down until Adrienne was far away enough not to be able to hear them. He could feel and hear Charlotte's heart pound hard against her chest and smirked when he noticed just how much she was blushing right now.

"Looks like we're even now, Charlotte," he said when he pulled away. She slapped him hard across his face and pushed him off him, but that only made him laugh. "Don't act like you didn't love it! I was fantastic!"

"Fantastic? Eat mud, Niklaus!" Charlotte said, throwing a handful of mud on his face.

Niklaus growled again and wiped the mud off with his hand and suddenly had the most brilliant idea. He scooped up a handful of mud and threw it at Charlotte when she tried to stand up, which of course made her more agitated.

Charlotte did the same thing and they began throwing mud at each other, until Niklaus fell and had to give up unless he wanted to be smeared even more in mud. His parents were going to be so mad at him when he got home and especially, because he didn't know where his clothes were.

"Yuck! I'm never going to get this out of my hair!" Charlotte grumbled as she finally stepped out of the pool without slipping.

"That's what you get for taking revenge, sweetheart! You can't beat me – I'm invincible!" Niklaus said and laughed.

Charlotte turned with a smug look on her face again. "Is that so? Well, Lord Invincible, I will leave you to find your clothes and will be waiting outside the forest to watch you embarrass yourself in front of the entire village!"

Niklaus cussed under his breath and after she'd left he began searching for his clothes without being caught walking around naked. It was one thing to be naked in front of her, but a completely different thing to be naked in front of the entire village's residents. He walked up the hill they rolled down and went back to the place where he found her giggling and blushed when he saw Elijah looking at his hidden clothes that had been covered by the petals of crimson roses.

"Brilliant, now I'm going to reek of mud _and_ flowers! Bravo, Charlotte. Bravo!" Niklaus said sarcastically, snatching the clothes from his older brother's hands.

Elijah tried hard to suppress his laughter. "Charlotte tricked you? _You_ of all people?" he asked.

Niklaus growled. "Oh, shut up, Elijah!"

But Elijah finally burst into a fit of laughter and no matter how much Niklaus tried to ignore it it didn't hide the fact that Elijah was right. He was tricked – by a girl – whom he just happened to dislike immensely. He knew that he wasn't going to hear the end of this anytime soon…

**Thanks for reading and please review! :D**


	2. Chores

**A/N: Hii, thanks for all the lovely reviews, faves, and alerts! :D I was surprised that so many took an interest in this story and wanted me to turn it into a story, because it was never my intention to do that, but... I've decided to turn this oneshot into a mini-story and if everything goes well then it might become a full story :D**

**Enjoy!**

**xoxo Ascha**

Chapter 2:

"_Niklaus!_"

The sound of his father's call made Klaus groan and hide under the covers of his bed. It was too early in the morning and especially of doing one of the things he hated the most – mucking out in the stables. It was his punishment for coming home all dirty and wet and for forgetting to do his chores like his siblings had already finished doing.

"Brother, are you really going to hide under the covers all morning? I do not reckon father will be particularly pleased about that…" Elijah said, pulling the covers off him.

Klaus grunted and sat up, running his fingers through his shoulder-long dark blond locks and scratching his cheek that was starting to turn a bit shaggy. He sighed and thought about his little meeting with Charlotte the other day and how he'd made her blush so easily. He wondered if he would run into her again and feel those soft lips of hers pressed against…

"Niklaus? Are you listening?"

Klaus groaned at the sound of his full name and glared at Elijah, who still waited for an answer of the question he asked him. He couldn't even remember what the question was, so he just shrugged and stepped out of bed to pull his trousers, shirt, and black boots on.

"Say… Elijah, what would I need to do to make you–"

"I am _not_ doing your chores. This is your punishment for not doing your chores, so unless you want more chores then…"

Klaus waved him away. "Yes, yes, I got it… Is it bad this time?"

Elijah chuckled and stepped off his own bed with a smirk on his lips. "I wouldn't know. It's not me who's going to muck out in the stables."

Klaus rolled his eyes and reluctantly walked outside to the stables where his father was waiting with the equipment. He could already tell just by looking at what their many horses had left for him on the floor that he was going to need all the equipment he could get.

"I reckon that Elijah should give me a hand. He skipped his chores two weeks ago." Klaus grumbled.

His father glared at him. "Elijah was sick and had a high fever. It doesn't count. Now get to work unless you want me to fetch my belt." he said, making Klaus shudder of the thought of being physically punished.

Again.

After his father had left he began mucking out in the stables and tried not to faint of the stench that reeked in every stable. He let his mind wander off somewhere else and thought about Charlotte's lips again and how he had felt her heart pound hard against her chest when he kissed her. He smiled at that thought and his chores began feeling less annoying to do.

When Klaus finally finished cleaning the stables he took a long and well-needed shower to wash the stench off him and then went to the market, hoping to meet Charlotte once again. He walked through the vigorous market that was filled with the sound of merchants, travellers, and villagers.

Klaus scanned the area for any dark haired girls he might know and smiled brightly when he spotted Charlotte at one of the market stalls, looking at a beautiful, but expensive pair of gold earrings. It seemed like she hadn't brought enough money with her, so he quickly stepped in and lend her the rest of the money, which of course surprised hr immensely.

"Well, well, well… trying to buy your way to my forgiveness?" she asked almost tauntingly.

Klaus grinned. "What makes you deem I require your forgiveness?" he asked teasingly and took the single crimson rose from her hair.

That made Charlotte scowling and looking like she wanted to smack him one. "You stink of horse manure, you do know that right?"

Klaus cussed at himself mentally, but kept the smug smirk on his lips. "Is that your way of saying that you love me?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes and walked away, but he just followed her with his hands behind his back and the rose caught between two fingers. They walked in silence the first couple of minutes, but when they reached the orchards Charlotte finally turned around, arms crossed to show that she was very displeased with his antics.

"Don't you have anything better to do other than following me around?" she asked sulkily.

"Nah, and besides – it's so amusing to see you sulk. You look quite adorable when you try glaring at me like that," he answered, pointing towards the angry glare she gave him now. He chuckled when her cheeks turned rosy and caught himself staring at her soft lips a tad too long. He moved his gaze away from her and looked at the apple tree instead. "Care for an apple?"

Charlotte looked towards the big apple and smiled weakly. He took that as a 'yes' and started crawling up in the tree as easy as nothing. He plucked two of the reddest apples and then jumped down from the tree again, only to find out that he was alone now. He looked wonderingly around and sighed weakly of the thought of Charlotte leaving already.

However, Klaus suddenly felt an apple hit his head and looked up, finding Charlotte up in the tree now and armed with a handful of apples. His eyes widened and he quickly jumped out of the way before more apples poured down on him. He heard Charlotte laugh up in the tree, so he snuck up on the other side of it and crawled up to her, catching her by surprise and making her drop all the apples she had in her arms.

"That's not very considerately done to a man who paid for your earring, is it now?" he asked smugly.

"No, but who said I was ever considerate?" Charlotte answered teasingly, leaning against a thick branch.

Klaus chuckled and picked two apples for them, handing her one of them. They sat up in the tree and ate the apples in silence and when they spotted Elijah walking towards the apple tree both of them got the same idea. They grabbed a handful of apples each and waited for Elijah to walk under the branches before they began pouring them down on him. When he then turned his gaze upwards they quickly hid and tried their best to suppress their laughter.

"Who is up there? By the order of Lord Elijah, show yourself!" he ordered.

Klaus signed for Charlotte to be quiet and quietly crawled out on one of the branches that Elijah wasn't looking at, letting another apple drop down on his head. Elijah cussed and they couldn't retain their laughter anymore. As Elijah walked sourly away they discretely jumped down from the tree, still giggling of the amusement they had had.

"He's so fun to tease…" Klaus said and suddenly found Charlotte blushing. She looked shyly away and he knew why, but he didn't say anything. "Let me walk you home."

"Walk me home? I do not need a man to get home safely!" she objected.

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Fine, then walk home alone, but do not call for help when thieves ambush you and try getting their hands on those pretty earrings of yours."

He started walking way; knowingly that Charlotte would change her mind and ask him to go with her anyway and she did.

"Fine, if you truly insist on it!" she said, trying to sound careless.

Klaus stopped – a wide grin flashing on his lips. He wiped the grin away and turned around to face her, noticing how her cheeks became more and more rosy. She crossed her arms stubbornly and began walking in the direction of her home and after looking at her walk for a few seconds he ran casually up next to her, following her all the way through the orchards.

"I hear your 16th birthday is coming up soon," he said after a few minutes of silence. "Am I invited?"

"Of course not," Charlotte said as a matter-of-fact. "However, all of your siblings are invited."

Klaus groaned. "And why am I not invited? Ohh, now I know! You want me to come later for our own private little party in your bedchamber. Got it."

He winked flirtatiously and made her clench her fists. It always amused him whenever she became angry, because he knew that under all that pride, elegancy, and rudeness towards him.

"Charlotte?" he said when she didn't comment on what he said.

"Hmm?" she said through clenched teeth.

"Why do you always wear a rose in your hair?"

Charlotte was surprised of his question and stopped, looking suspiciously at him. "I just do."

He raised an eyebrow. "O—kay."

She frowned, looking a tad pissed off. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Klaus shrugged. "Nothing."

He continued walking, but Charlotte stopped him and looked deep into his eyes with her dark brown ones.

"What is wrong with my hair?"

Klaus was immensely amused by her and wanted to come with another teasing answer, but he didn't do it. Instead he pushed a stray strand of her hair behind her ear and put the red rose he had kept back in her hair. He could feel her pulse going faster when he touched her cheek lightly and felt a burning desire inside him to press his lips against hers again.

But he didn't do it.

"Your father is walking in our direction," he said without taking his eyes off her. "I should go. I hope you have a wonderful evening tomorrow night."

And with that he left, but he knew that Charlotte was dying to say something or to make him stay for a little longer. As much as he wanted to stay, then he feared her father, who already was annoyed with him. He had always hated him and Klaus knew why. It was because he was a troublemaker unlike his other older brothers and because he still suspected Klaus of being the one who stole and killed his chickens four years ago. Although Klaus had been tempted to do it, then he never went anywhere near the man's chickens, but he had a feeling of who had.

Another wealthy family that lived in the other side of the village always used to eye the animals at Charlotte's home whenever they went visiting them or visited Klaus's family. Klaus never did like the family and always found it strange how the father of the family always looked at his mother in a way he could not describe. It was as if they had a secret that his father did not know anything about and that had always worried him.

However, when Klaus returned to his home and found his mother and sisters cooking together in the kitchen, he shook all the thoughts and worries away and returned to his old antics. He snatched a piece of bread from the table and made his way to get the butter, but his oldest sister Adrienne grabbed him hard by his neck and took the retrieved the bread.

"No food before dinner," she scolded, making her younger brother rolling his eyes. "Did you do your chores?"

"Yes, Mother," Klaus said teasingly, which made his mother laugh. Adrienne sighed and returned to the chicken she was preparing. "Have you all received an invitation to Charlotte's birthday party?"

"Of course. She always invites us," his sister Alice said. Klaus growled under his breath. He knew that the only reason why he wasn't invited was because Charlotte's father hated him and it made him furious. "Klaus? Niklaus, what is wrong?"

Klaus ignored her and just went to his bedchamber, slamming the door behind him.

**Thanks for reading and please review! :D**


	3. Soft Lips

**A/N: Hii, thanks for all the lovely reviews, alerts, and faves! ;D**

**Enjoy!**

**xoxo Ascha**

Chapter 3:

It was deadly quiet in the house.

Klaus closed his eyes for a moment and imagined himself at Charlotte's 16th birthday party. He could see himself teasing her about how she was old enough to be married away and how it would not be long before boys would be lining up to get her attention like how some of the girls in the village had tried to catch his attention – everyone except for Charlotte of course.

"Urgh! Why do I keep thinking about her?" he yelled, grabbing the vase next to him made by his sister Emilia and throwing it into a wall.

It shattered all over Elijah's bed and on the floor. Klaus cussed and stepped out of his bed, walking up to his window and looking towards the bright lights and people at Charlotte's home. He could see that people were dancing, having fun, and celebrating the now 16-year-old girl's birth, but as much as he wanted to go there anyway, then his father had forbidden him to leave the house.

If he did he was going to be punished again and the punishment wasn't to muck out in the stables again. His father knew that Charlotte's father didn't like him and since they worked together very often, then he didn't' want his errant son to ruin their business, which Klaus found extremely infuriating. But the thought of Charlotte falling in love with someone else infuriated him even more, so he grabbed his cloak and left the house anyway.

_She better be worth it,_ he thought as he ran towards the back of her home where no one would see him. He took a quick look around and then crawled inside what he knew was just bedchamber for guests where he found no other than his second oldest brother Marco, kissing passionately with a young lady.

"Niklaus! What the–!"

"Shh, brother! Father cannot know that I am here or I will tell your fiancée that you are spending time with this beautiful young lady," Klaus said, making his older brother scowl. "Deal?"

"Fine! But do not come to me when he finds you!" Marco warned.

Klaus rolled his eyes and left the bedchamber, continuing further down the hall to what he hoped was Charlotte's bedchamber. He could hear the sound of someone humming and decided to go inside, finding Charlotte sat on her bed with a crimson rose in her hand. She was surprised to see him, but the brief smile on her lips told him that she was happy that he came anyway.

"Are you mad?" she asked, quickly closing the door behind him.

"I wouldn't say mad… eccentric, yes. But not mad." Klaus answered teasingly and lay down on her bed.

Charlotte rolled her eyes and pushed him off her bed, so she could sit on it. He just laughed and got back up on it.

"Happy birthday, my ever-so-annoying-and-girly friend."

Charlotte blushed. "Thank you. But Klaus, you really shouldn't–"

"You wish for me to leave?"

Her eyes widened. "No! I mean, yes, um… no, what I mean is that…what are you doing here when you know my father hates you?"

_Good question. What _am_ I doing here?_

Klaus shrugged and looked at Charlotte from head to toe. She was dressed in a beautiful green and gold coloured dress, her long dark brown hair was curled elegantly and hung lose, and her eyes... they were so full of love.

"I brought a gift for you," he lied. "Close your eyes."

Charlotte frowned, but closed her eyes and expected to get something, but Klaus hadn't brought any gifts with him. He just wanted to distract her and make her stop worrying, so he did what he'd been longing to do ever since that day at the lake. He leaned slowly in and pressed his lips against hers. She hesitated at first, but eventually relaxed in her body and let him wrap his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. He could feel her heart pound hard and fast inside her chest and the touch of her lips against filled his body with this strange, warm sensation.

However, there was suddenly a knock on the door and Klaus heard the sound of Charlotte's father asking for her. He froze, while Charlotte pulled away and turned as pale as a corpse.

"You need to leave," she whispered quietly. "Now!"

Klaus nodded understandingly and gave her a quick, but passionate kiss before he crawled out of her window and snuck back towards his home. He could hear as he was leaving that Charlotte easily managed to convince her father that she had been all alone in her bedchamber and couldn't stop himself from smirking. He slowed down on his way back home and walked the rest of the way, touching his lips and thinking back on how good it felt to feel her lips again.

"Klaus!" a familiar voice suddenly yelled.

Klaus stopped abruptly and sighed in relief when he saw that it was merely Elijah. He didn't know what he would have done if it had been his father, on his way to scold him because he knew what he had done a few minutes ago.

"Marco told me that you went to Charlotte's party anyway… Did I miss something, brother?" Elijah asked teasingly.

Klaus groaned. "Marco is so asking to get his butt kicked!" he grumbled. "But yes, I did attend her party. Why is that so surprising? I mean, there are mead, beautiful women, and delicious food!"

Elijah snorted. "So you did not come to visit Charlotte?"

"Of course not!" It was an utter lie and Elijah knew that.

"Then why did I see you jump out of her window and leave in a hurry?"

Klaus's face turned pale and panicked. He grabbed Elijah's shirt and slammed him down on the ground. "Elijah, you cannot tell anyone about her and I. If you do that I will never forgive you. Do you understand?"

Elijah nodded and Klaus loosened his grip on his brother. "You truly do love her, don't you?"

Klaus nodded hesitantly and continued walking towards their home, Elijah following closely behind him.

"I thought you hated each other…?"

He chuckled dryly. "We did, but… I cannot stop thinking about her. Her antics annoy me immensely, but there is something about her that I cannot disregard."

This made Elijah smile brightly. "Ah… and does she return your feelings?"

Klaus smiled brightly as well, which was enough answer for Elijah. He chuckled and held Klaus in a headlock, roughly his dark blonde hair. The two brothers fought playfully against each other, until they finally reached their home and even then Elijah couldn't resist the temptation to tease his younger brother for falling in love with the girl he hated the most.

"I bet you did not kiss any girls tonight…" Klaus teased, making Elijah blush.

"That is not true! I actually did catch young Lady Anna's attention tonight. She seems quite smitten with me." Elijah said, grabbing an apple from a basket.

Klaus had to laugh of that. "You mean Lady Anna – that posh girl, who's so afraid of getting her pretty nails dirty?"

Elijah blushed. "Yes, but she is just a very… _neat_ girl. Nothing I cannot live with."

"Oh, brother! I never understand your taste in women!"

Klaus shook his head of his brother and walked back to his bedchamber to pick up all the broken pieces. He never did like the vase, but kept it to make Emilia happy. She had always been his favourite sister and she was the only one of his sisters who didn't tease him. When he was done picking up the pieces he walked back to Elijah, but froze on the spot when he saw his father in the house, looking rather annoyed with something or _someone_.

"Elijah, have your brother been home all evening?" he asked sternly.

"Yes, Father. Surprisingly enough," Elijah lied effortlessly, being all too used to having to lie to save Klaus from being physically punished. "He was asleep when I came home."

"Not that that was particularly exciting…" Klaus grumbled to make the lie believable.

Their father nodded understandingly and chuckled softly. "Very well. Since you have actually behaved, then I will allow you to go to Charlotte's birthday party, but only for one hour. Her father is not pleased with it, but I convinced him that you can behave."

Klaus's eyes widened. "Truly? I can go?"

Their father nodded again and before he could say anything else Klaus was already running out of the house and back towards Charlotte's home. He was panting and slightly sweaty by the time he arrived at her home, but he didn't care. He just wanted to see Charlotte again and perhaps steal a kiss or… five. He looked anxiously around for Charlotte and when he finally spotted her in the crowd he was _not_ pleased. She was dancing with the young man, who _did_ kill the chickens.

It was the son of the wealthy landowner, who lived in the other side of the town and it was particularly the young man Klaus always used to get into fights with.

"Well, look at that! It's William! Have you tried the delicious _chicken_ yet, Willy?" Klaus asked, smirking smugly.

The young dark haired and brown eyed young Lord turned around and glared venomously at Klaus, but his smirk remained. He noticed that Charlotte was happy to see him, but somewhat confused of why he was back and then in public.

"You have a lot of nerves showing up here after how I kicked your pathetic ass last time," Will said, walking away from Charlotte and closer to Klaus. The two young lords stood face to face and stared at each other with hatred in their eyes. "Are you here to lose again, _Niklaus_?"

"If you mean if that I will lose my control to hold back my laughter when _you_ are running back home to your Mother, then yes. I am here to lose."

William growled and was about to attack Klaus, but his father quickly stepped in the way and ordered him to leave, which he reluctantly did. Klaus didn't know why, but William's father looked at him and sighed weakly as if something was bothering him. He didn't say what it was, but just left with his agitated son.

"One day you are going to get yourself killed, Niklaus, and then I will be there to poke you in the eye and saying 'I told you so'," Charlotte said, making the smirk on Klaus's lips widen. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I could say that I missed those soft lips of yours immensely, but Father actually let me come for an hour if I just behaved." Klaus said.

Charlotte snorted. "You? Behave? I do not believe that is even possible!"

Klaus chuckled and pulled her out to the others, so he could dance with her. He noticed that Alice caught him dancing with Charlotte and was amused by her pale facial expression. His other siblings soon found out about it as well and were all waiting for either Charlotte to slap him or for him to start teasing her like he always did.

"We need to find a place where we can be alone," he whispered into her ear. "Somewhere where we will not be disturbed."

Charlotte blushed, but nodded in agreement and her heartbeat's pace increased rapidly when Klaus's hands moved further down her back. She pushed him away and slapped him, but he just pulled her back to him and held her hands together between their chests.

"Simply making it believable, Charlotte… we do not want anyone to suspect anything, do we now?"

Charlotte sighed. "I'm starting to think that you are enjoying this a little too much..."

**Thanks for reading and please review! :D**


	4. The Beach

**A/N: Hii, thanks for the reviews, faves, and alerts! 8D**

**Enjoy!**

**xoxo Ascha**

Chapter 4:

Two months had passed since Charlotte's 16th birthday, but it felt more like two weeks had passed to Klaus. At least once a week he would sneak out to meet Charlotte at the lake just before the sun went down and they would kiss in ways that everyone in the village would find highly inappropriate – especially, since they weren't even engaged – however, it was hard for them to keep their hands off each other and it was mostly Klaus, who couldn't go a week without making Charlotte become flushed or embarrassed.

"Does your father suspect anything?" Klaus asked, ripping the petals off a lily he meant to give her, as they walked towards the orchards.

"No, he is too busy working lately," Charlotte answered, a smile forming on her lips. Klaus took a look around and found no one nearby, which meant that he was free to take her hand in his and make her act like a smitten young girl. "He is leaving town for a week, so I will be home alone with Mother."

Klaus raised an eyebrow and smirked brightly. "Is that so? Well, would you like some male company then?"

Charlotte giggled. "Niklaus, behave! I know you cannot control your bodily needs, but I really don't think it's appropriate for you to spend the night in my bedroom. My mother may be kinder than my father, but she is not stupid and will also know if you are there."

He groaned and continued removing the petals on the lily, until there was nothing left on it. He tossed it away and took another glance around in the area.

"Am I at least allowed to visit you?"

"Of course! It merely has to be before the sun goes down. I know it is very… exasperating, but as long as my father does not approve of you being near me we have to do it this way."

"Oh, I understand. But if your father does not approve of me soon, then I will just take you far away from here so we can be happy."

Charlotte took Klaus's hand and squeezed it softly. She hated to see him become furious over things like this, so she gave him a quick kiss on his cheek that made him relax in his body and calm down. He always did have a temper and tended to get in trouble…

"Let us not worry about our little affaire and have fun instead," she said, making him sigh in relief of the change of subject. "Shall we go to the lake or the apple tree today?"

Klaus thought a little about that and suddenly got a brilliant idea. He took her hand and began running further down the orchards and past the harbour, until they reached the beach. Charlotte was panting by the time they arrived, while Klaus still had energy for another run back. He had always had the best stamina in the family and although, he was the youngest, he was still the strongest of his brothers, but of course Marco and Callum never wanted to admit that he won and always said that they just "let him win".

"The beach? But the water is probably cold today…" Charlotte began, but Klaus ignored her and took off his boots and rolled his pants up anyway. "Klaus? Are you truly going in the water? You will catch a cold or… hopefully get eaten by a shark!"

Klaus grinned. "If that's the case, then I better bring you along!" he said teasingly and dragged her out towards the water.

Charlotte barely managed to get her shoes off before they were suddenly standing in the cool water and she had to hold her dark red dress up, so it wouldn't get wet. She watched Klaus as he walked around in the water, his gaze searching for something in the water. She followed him further out in the water, but stopped when the water almost reached her knees in fear of becoming wet and cold. Klaus on the other hand continued walking and first when he was so far out that the water went to his thighs, he finally found something that caught his interest. He walked back to her and after washing the object in the saltwater he handed it to her.

It was a beautiful piece of oval amber.

"Wauw… it's… beautiful," Charlotte said with amazement. "How did you…?"

"I saw a couple of them last time I was here with my sisters," Klaus explained. "I will have someone make it into a necklace for you."

The smile on Charlotte's lips widened and she hugged him tightly, ignoring the fact that her dress was getting wet anyway. She looked into his blue eyes and gave him a passionate kiss to show her gratitude. Klaus wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her back, making the warmth spread throughout their bodies. He wanted to feel more of her and to explore every inch of her body, but at the same time he wanted to take things slow and just enjoy having a girl like her in his life. She was not just a random girl he didn't know, but someone who was… his perfect fit.

"Klaus…" Charlotte whispered softly, biting her bottom lip shyly. "I reckon we should go somewhere where our clothes can dry up."

"I agree," he said, smiling brightly and picked her up in his arms quicker than she could blink. He carried her back to shore and placed her on a large rock, so she wouldn't get sand on her dress. The last thing he needed was her mother to become annoyed with him as well. "Have you ever thought about how it would be like to travel all around world? To visit every country and not just stay here and spend the rest of your life taking care of some man's children?"

Charlotte nodded. "I have heard a lot of wonderful things about France," she said. "And Father once told me about his trip to Southern France. He said that the beaches were beautiful and the water was warm and…"

Klaus chuckled, which made her stop and look weirdly at him. "Sorry, I just thought of something rather funny. You and I in Southern France – skinny dipping."

Her face immediately turned bright red and that only made him chuckle even more. He pulled her in for another kiss and could feel her melt in his embrace. They kissed tenderly and the longer they continued the deeper the kiss became. Klaus began feeling the burning desire inside him again and lifted her up on his lap, so he could pull her closer to him. They stayed like this for the next couple of minutes, none of them wanting to let go, but when Klaus was beginning to untie the laces in the back of her dress Charlotte broke the kiss and cupped his face in her hands.

"I really think that you should take a cold bath," she said teasingly. He realized what she meant by that and for the first time in a while he actually blushed. Charlotte grinned and gave him a quick, but tender kiss and took his hand, leading him back towards the village. "You know what I really need right now?"

"Me?" Klaus suggested teasingly.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "No… I could really need something to eat. So let's go see if Mother has baked some bread. And then you can also try charming your way to her heart."

Klaus snorted. "That's going to be very easy. I already think she's quite fond of me."

That made Charlotte laugh hard, but her laughter stopped when she suddenly noticed Adrienne and Emilia walking towards their direction. She let go of his hand and pushed him so hard that he fell down in the sand. Klaus was about to say something, but he noticed his sisters as well and understood what she was doing.

"That wasn't nicely done, Charlotte! I think you need to cool down your fiery, but sexy temper down immediately!" he said teasingly as he rose from the ground.

"Don't you dare touch me! Niklaus, don't–!" Charlotte hissed angrily, but it was already too late.

Klaus grabbed her and began running towards the water, jumping into the cool water with her, while his sisters shook their head in dismay of his childish antics. But while they were under the water Klaus stole a kiss or two before they reached the surface again.

"Mother is so not going to like this when I return…" Charlotte muttered.

"Neither is mine, but at least it will be worth it," he whispered and winked flirtatiously at her before he began swimming back to shore. Charlotte followed right behind him, but when they reached the shore and walked up towards Klaus's sisters, Adrienne walked up to Klaus and grabbed him by his hair. "Ouch! Let go, Adrienne or I swear I will–"

"Will what, little brother?" Adrienne asked angrily, giving him a kick in is butt. "Mother is not going to be pleased about you pushing Charlotte in the water and ruining her dress! Apologies immediately or I will let Father know what you have done."

Klaus growled and was tempted to say something bad, but the last thing he wanted was to be wiped or hit again by their strict father, so he reluctantly walked up to Charlotte, while she was squeezing the water out of her dress.

"I request for your forgiveness, milady." he said, trying hard to suppress the growing smirk.

Charlotte was having a hard time suppressing her giggles as well, but she managed to keep them in and pretended to be furious at him.

"I will only forgive you if you carry me back home and give me your jacket, so I can keep myself warm." she said.

Klaus snorted and turned his gaze back to his sisters, but Adrienne was looking sternly at him, so he gave up and handed her his jacket. Charlotte then jumped up on his back and he carried her all the way home like agreed. Now that his sisters weren't anywhere near anymore Charlotte used the opportunity to whisper sweet words in his ear and kissed him once or twice on his cheeks.

"You shouldn't have tossed me into the water… what wouldn't the people think now?" she asked as they were reaching her home.

Klaus chuckled and helped her down from his back, but he didn't get to say anything, because Charlotte's mother walked outside and spotted her soaking wet daughter.

"Charlotte! Oh my… what happened to you, dear?" she exclaimed, checking every inch of her body to make sure that she wasn't hurt.

"I… tripped and fell into the lake, but luckily Niklaus was there to save me," Charlotte lied much to Klaus's surprise. But he was thankful of that she was trying to protect him and therefore he didn't comment on her reason to being wet. "Mother, may Niklaus please join us for dinner? That is the least I can do for his heroic acts."

Charlotte's mother looked incredulously at Klaus, because she hadn't expected _him_ of all the villagers to save her daughter when she knew that they often bickered or disagreed with a lot of things. But she gave him a chance and let him inside their home. He was lent some dry clothes, while his wet clothes were hung outside so it could dry in the sun.

Klaus hurried to get dressed and then snuck to Charlotte's bedchamber just as she was pulling her new dress on. She almost let out a scream of surprise, but he quickly covered her mouth and gave her a kiss, so she wouldn't get mad at him.

"Need some help with the laces?" he asked, moving around to her back.

"Um… yes, but I have maids to do that," Charlotte scoffed. Klaus ignored her and began tying the laces in the back of her emerald green dress. He let one of his hands slide down to her butt and couldn't resist the temptation to pinch her. Charlotte flinched and turned around, glowering at him. "Did you just pinch me?"

Klaus smirked. "Perhaps I did. Perhaps I did not…"

Charlotte blushed and pushed him away, but he pinched her one more time. This time she wasn't just flushed, but he could almost hear her heart beating fast.

"Do it again and I will not kiss you for a month!" she growled and was about to leave her bedchamber, but Klaus grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

"Such temper you have… I am your boyfriend. I have permission to touch whatever I want to touch," he said, wiggling his eyebrows teasingly. "But right now I will just settle with your lips."

Charlotte smiled brightly. "_That_ I do not have any problems with…"

**Thanks for reading and please review! :D**


	5. Skin Walkers

**A/N: Hii, wauw thanks for all the reviews and I can't believe that you actually like this story so much! :D**

**I'm still considering of making it into a full story, so if you just keep the reviews coming and are still interested in the story past chapter 10 then I'll definitely make it into a full story ;)**

**Enjoy!**

**xoxo Ascha**

Chapter 5:

The warm afternoon sun was starting to take its toll on Klaus, who very much against his will had been penalized by his older sister and forced to scrub the horses clean from top to bottom.

They had a total of _seven_ horses.

Klaus muttered every possible swear word he could think of as he scrubbed the hooves of Elijah's auburn furred horse. The very same brother was currently out with Lady Anna, whom Klaus knew for a fact was starting to annoy Elijah immensely, but being the gentleman he was he couldn't bring himself to tell that he wasn't interested in her. Klaus found that quite amusing and although he had offered to do it for him, then Elijah of course thanked no.

"Niklaus!" their mother Esther called.

Klaus let go of the auburn horse's hoof and patted it on the back before he walked up to his mother, who smelled of newly made bread. He inhaled the delicious smell and felt his stomach growl in hunger. He hadn't eaten lunch yet, so he was starting to starve.

"Take a bath and come have some lunch, my son," she said kindly. "I will make one of your brothers finish your work, because I think you have been punished enough."

Klaus smiled and thanked her, giving her a quick kiss on her cheek before he went to take a bath that he definitely needed – especially, since he had a date with Charlotte tonight. They were planning to go for a walk under the starry sky and Klaus was actually hoping that tonight Charlotte would finally let him be her first. He loved her and wanted to marry her, so what difference would it make if they made love now instead of after the wedding?

_Two years is a long time to wait,_ he thought as he poured the warm water over him. _I want to wait, but it's hard when she's so…_

Klaus heard a giggle nearby and smirked because he knew exactly who it was. He turned and placed his hands on his hip, proudly showing off everything like he'd done at the lake when she stole his clothes. Charlotte looked at him with a teasing look in her eyes and snorted as if she wasn't impressed, which of made him frown because he'd expected her to blush.

"Sorry, Klaus, but your charm is wearing off!" she scoffed and threw a towel to him.

"Aww, but I love when you blush! You always look so adorable…" he said teasingly and this time she did blush. "Ha! I still have my charm!"

Charlotte shook her head of him and went inside much to his surprise. They were first supposed to meet up at sundown, but now that she _was_ there he wanted to take advantage of it. He quickly dried himself, dressed, and went in to the kitchen where Charlotte was talking with his mother about what she and her own mother had been up to lately. Klaus was tempted to kiss her, but no one was supposed to know that they were in love – not even his caring mother.

"Urgh, what is she doing here?" he asked, pretending to be annoyed by her presence.

Charlotte scowled at him, but smiled discretely to him. "Milady, excuse my language, but your son reek of wet fur!" she scoffed.

His mother chuckled softly. "You actually do, Niklaus. Did you remember to use soap?" she asked.

Klaus blushed. He most certainly didn't. He'd been too busy finishing his bath that he forgot to use soap and even he could smell the scent of wet fur on him. He growled, grabbed a piece of bread with butter, and went in to his bedchamber with Charlotte following quickly behind him.

"Your mother knows that we are together," she said calmly, taking a seat on his bed. Klaus's face turned pale, but Charlotte pulled him down on the bed and gave him a soft kiss to calm his nerves. "Do not fret. She promised that she will not tell anyone anything. She is merely happy that we are happy and that you are not making as much trouble anymore."

Klaus snorted. "You are bad influence on me. You are taking away my bad boy image!" he said.

"As if you ever had one…" She giggled when she saw him frown again. "I am joking, Niklaus. Lighten up."

Klaus chuckled of her and crawled on top of her, pushing her down on his mattress. He kissed her passionately and she let him, but they could hear that his other siblings returned home, so they had to break the kiss.

"I better go back home," she said. "I cannot wait to see you tonight and remember to take a bath _with_ soap this time."

Klaus grinned, but gave her a tender goodbye kiss and let her leave just as his siblings entered their home. Elijah was the only one who wasn't there, which was a shame since he was the one Klaus wanted to talk with. But he enjoyed the quiet and warm afternoon with his siblings and as the hours passed and the sun finally began going down over the horizon, he felt a burning excitement inside him that he hadn't felt before. He was nervous and it was all because of Charlotte. He never did like to be nervous or not to be in control of what happened around him, so of course he felt vulnerable and hoped that Charlotte wouldn't break his heart.

Just before Klaus left the house to meet up with Charlotte he was stopped by Elijah, who was on his way home. He had a worried expression on his face that made Klaus's heart beat faster. He sincerely hoped that his brother didn't have bad news about Charlotte, but he had a very bad feeling that this was about her.

"Klaus, you need to stay home tonight," he said warningly. "It's… Charlotte's father. More animals have disappeared from his home and he is furious about it. He found one of his horses slaughtered in the forest and he believes you are somehow involved in it."

"What?" Klaus exclaimed, trying hard to understand what was going on. "He reckons _I_ killed and slaughtered his horse? He must be mad! Why would I do such a thing?"

Elijah shrugged. "All I know is that he thinks you're not human. I overheard him talking with the other village men that skin-walkers have been spotted in the forest during the full moon. He believes you're one of them and that you will harm Charlotte, so he locked her up in their home and forbid her to ever talk with you again."

Klaus felt a twinge in his heart and lump in his throat that refused to disappear no matter how many times he attempted to gulp it down. He felt sick to his stomach and the thought of him never being able to be with Charlotte pained him more than anything else in this world. But he knew exactly who to blame and he was certain that _they_ were the ones, who were behind everything. The thought of them made him clench his fists and a growl rose from his chest.

"Niklaus listen to me," Elijah said, hands placed on his shoulders. "You _cannot_ do anything rash or else you will get our family in danger. You have to stay here until Father returns and sorts things out with them. Do you understand? Nick, look at me! _Do you understand_?"

Elijah was very serious about this and Klaus knew not to agitate his brother, who normally always remained calm no matter what happened, so he nodded and took a deep breath, letting his hands relax and unclench.

Klaus walked back in to their shared bedchamber with Elijah following closely behind him and although Klaus had relaxed, then he quickly flared up again and in pure frustration he rammed his hand into the wall, making a fist shaped dent in it. He immediately regretted doing it and clutched the hand to himself, muttering one swearword after another. Elijah shook his head of him, but knowing how temperamental he was he expected something like this to happen.

"I understand that you are frustrated Klaus, but–"

"Frustrated does not cover the half of what I am feeling at this moment!" Klaus snarled. "This is entirely William's fault. Him and his family–!"

Klaus cussed again and sat down on his bed, running his fingers through his shoulder-long dark blond hair. He took a deep breath and tried calming down, but the anger remained, burning with the intensity of a house caught in flames. He knew that the only way to get rid of this anger was to seek the cause of it up, so much against Elijah's will he left the house faster than anyone could stop him and jumped on his horse, riding as fast as he could towards the other side of the village.

William was outside brushing his horse when Klaus arrived and the minute he spotted Klaus a smirk appeared on his lips that only added to the burning fire inside him. Klaus jumped off his horse and walked with clenched fists up to his smirking archenemy.

"I heard the most peculiar thing today when I went to visit Charlotte," he said tauntingly. "It seems _someone_ has killed her father's animals and they strangely enough think it's you. But knowing what a brat you are, then I actually agree with them."

"Yes, of course you would that, because then all suspicion would be removed from you. I know what you are, William, and you better tell her father the truth or else I will rearrange that ugly face of yours!" Klaus snarled.

William snorted. "You reckon you can beat me? Niklaus, you truly are ignorant! If you know what I am then you also know that I can kill you just like that… like when I killed that thief, who broke in to Charlotte's home two years ago. You remember that? You should because it's what earned me his trust and then I could easily charm my way to his precious young daughter's heart – something you may have done, but you will never have his trust. After last night's discovery he will never let you anywhere near his girl and then she's _all_–"

William didn't have the opportunity to finish his sentence, because Klaus planted his fist right in his face and struck him so hard that he fell backwards. He let out a feral growl that sounded far from human and jumped on Klaus like a wolf on its prey.

Klaus took the beating however and fought back bravely, refusing to let William win this fight and win the right to marry the girl he loved. He wasn't just fighting to clear his reputation, but also to keep William from getting what he wanted. He never stopped fighting – not even when William's eyes turned yellow and wolf-like.

However, once again William's father appeared and he broke the fight by flashing a pair of matching yellow eyes at his son. Klaus soon realized that it wasn't just William, but his entire family, who were skin-walkers. He began walking backwards without knowing why, but he just needed to get away. William's father turned to him and he stopped abruptly, a feeling of something familiar appearing in his mind again.

"Niklaus please do not say a word about this," he pleaded, taking a step closer to him. There was something about the way he spoke his name that seemed… fatherly, but it was not the kind of fatherly behaviour his father normally showed towards him. Still, it calmed him down and made him listen to him. "I will talk with George, I promise. I will explain to him that you had nothing to do with the death of his animals, but you have to promise me that you will not tell _anyone_ our secret. We do not want to cause any problems in this village and neither will William anymore."

Klaus hesitated.

Why was he even considering of keeping their secret?

Why did he feel a strange and familiar bond between him and William's father?

"Please, Nick." William's father looked desperate, so he took a deep breath and reluctantly nodded.

"I promise," he said without knowing why. "But you better keep _your_ promise then."

William's father nodded and he saw a hint of a caring smile that made Klaus feel safe and something else he couldn't describe. Whatever connection he had to his archenemy's father, then it ran much deeper than he imagined and he had a strange sensation that his mother held the answers to his unspoken questions. He glared one last time at his archenemy before he jumped up on his horse and rode away, heading to the only place where he was able to think straight and sit undisturbed by the rest of the world.

Charlotte wasn't waiting for him by the lake like he expected. A part of him hoped that she had somehow managed to escape her home and come anyway, but now that part had disappeared. He limped down to the lake, an injured hand clutched to his stomach where he had a large bruise from its encounter with William's fist.

Klaus bent down at the shore and took a look at his bloodied face. His left eye was swollen and turning slowly a dark red colour, his bottom lip and nose were bleeding, and he had a feeling that his arm had dislodged itself from his shoulder. He took a piece of fabric and bit down in it as he pushed the arm back in place, wincing at the pain.

_It's a good thing Charlotte isn't here to see me like this_, he thought and lied down on the shore, ignoring the fact that his clothes were slowly getting wet. _But I have to see her. I need to tell her how I feel about her. Even if it will cost me my life…_

**Thanks for reading and please review! :D**


	6. Silence

**A/N: Hii, thanks for all the lovely reviews, faves, and alerts! :D**

**OK, I can tell that the chapters are turning more and more... M-ish, so I'm going to change the rating to M**

**Ohh, and just a little reminder - I know that the names of the rest of the siblings might not be the real names of the Originals, but it's better than just calling them "blank", so... well, now that's clear xD**

**Enjoy!**

**xoxo Ascha**

Chapter 6:

"Klaus!"

The voice was unrecognizable and although Klaus wished to see Charlotte, then he couldn't ignore the fact that she would be penalized by her father if he found out where she was right now and with whom. He raised himself from the dirty ground and turned to her, watching her stop running abruptly and become shocked at the sight of his beaten up body and face.

Her eyes immediately brimmed with tears and he could see a look of guilt flashing all over her face. She believed that his condition was her fault, but it wasn't and he wanted her to know that, so he approached her and wiped the trickling tears away with his good hand, whilst still clutching his stomach with the injured one.

"Charlotte… Please do not cry," he said softly. It pained him to see her so upset, but the sadness was filled with anger when he saw the bruise on her wrist. It had the shape of a grown man's hand, which could only mean that her father had gotten physical on her. "Did he hurt you? Please tell me if he did _that_ to you, because if he did…"

"Klaus, calm down! I do _not_ want to see you dead and… it isn't as bad as it looks. He just… he just grabbed me. That's all. But-but you? What happened to you?"

Klaus shuddered, but it wasn't because he was scared of telling her the truth. He was cold, wet, and sore all over his body. Charlotte seemed to know what was wrong and helped him sit down with his back against a large rock. They sat in silence for a few minutes and merely enjoyed the quietness and as much as Klaus didn't want to tell her that he had fought William, but he had to.

"I… I was in a fight with William," he said hoarsely. "I have been suspecting that he is behind the killings, so I went to confront him. He made me furious and I… snapped."

Charlotte let out a deep sigh, but took his good hand in hers and replaced the pain inside him with a warm, tingling sensation. All the anger disappeared as well and it felt like nothing had happened at all. Klaus wrapped his good arm around her and let her tug herself close to him.

"I love you, Charlotte. I truly do…" he said quietly, but loud enough for her to hear it.

She smiled and gave him a kiss so soft that it felt like it was healing his wounds. She always had that effect on him and sometimes he wondered if she had some kind of strange power over him.

"I love you too, Niklaus. I always will."

Klaus smiled even though his body was sore, then he still let Charlotte lie on him and they lied closely together on the ground, just listening to the sound of their beating hearts. They enjoyed the beautiful starry sky and whenever a star would shoot across the sky, Klaus would let Charlotte make a wish. He didn't need to wish anything, because he had everything he wanted right now.

"How long have you had a crush on me? Before you tried to embarrass me in front of the entire village, that is…" Klaus said.

Charlotte giggled at the memory. "Quite some time, actually. At first I despised you and wanted a tree to fall down on you, but… I don't know. I just began growing fond of you. Like… my old cat. He always peed on my bed or destroyed my clothes, but I grew to love him too." she said.

Klaus raised an eyebrow. "You're comparing me to a peeing cat?"

"Yes, I am! You actually remind me a lot of him. Except… he used to rape Father's leg every once in a while." Charlotte burst out laughing of that, while Klaus rolled his eyes.

"Well, you know you who you remind me of? Elijah's annoying horse. Whenever I go anywhere near her she either pushes me or kicks me between my legs."

That only made Charlotte laugh even more and she laughed so hard that she actually cried a bit. "Yes, that sounds like me alright!"

To distract her from the laughter he swiftly made her lie under him and began kissing her so tenderly that he heard a moan escape her lips. She wrapped her arms around him and deepened the kiss, giving him the feeling that she had missed him as much as he had missed her. He wasn't quite sure of what had made her let go of her inhibitions – perhaps it was the fear of losing him or perhaps it was something else, but whatever it was then he didn't want to use it to take advantage of her. He couldn't do that even though there was nothing he wanted more than to explore every inch of her body and show her how much he loved her.

When Charlotte began unbuttoning his tunic, he did the least thing he would want to do in a situation like this and stopped her. She looked wonderingly at him and seemed slightly disappointed as well.

"You should go back home before your father finds out that you snuck out," he said and immediately regretted saying it. He sighed and sat up, pulling her up on his lap. "I know you really want to and trust me, I want it too, but I don't think now is the time for us to…"

Charlotte gave him a brief, but soft kiss and smiled. "I understand and you are right. As much as I love you, then I don't think I'm ready to something so… intimate."

Klaus chuckled at the sight of her rosy cheeks and was tempted to tease her about it, but he knew that he had to get her home quickly, so instead he followed her home and helped her jump back inside her bedchamber through the window. He kept his good eye open for her parents and others, who might be nearby and only let his guards down when Charlotte gave him a goodnight kiss. He quietly snuck away from the house and ran back to his own home, hoping that he wouldn't meet his father on his way home.

Unfortunately, his father had been waiting for him in the darkness and grabbed him before he could run away. He never even got the chance to say something, because his father slapped him hard across his face almost instantly, a feral look flashing in his eyes.

"You little bastard! You are a _disgrace_ to your family and to me! How many times have I told you _not_ to fight with William?" his father snarled angrily, grabbing a fistful of his long locks.

Klaus winced in pain and tried breaking free of his iron grip, but it was impossible. His father forced him to the chopping block and for a moment he feared that his own father was actually going to chop his head off. But instead his father grabbed the belt that hung in his tool shed next to the chopping block and it wasn't until his tunic was suddenly ripped off his body that he understood what was going to happen.

"I need to whip some sense into that thick skull of yours, so you understand not to break my rules again!"

Klaus gulped, but he didn't want to show that he was scared, so he just closed his eyes and waited for the whip to hit his bare back. The first whip sent a jolt of pain through his body, but he kept his teeth clenched and held on tightly to the chopping block. Another whip hit him and it was so hard that his legs trembled under him, causing him to fall down on his knees.

"Get up, boy! If you are man enough to make trouble, then you are also man enough to take your punishment!" his father snarled.

Klaus was still trembling, but he managed to stand up and waited for the third whip. But… it never came. He looked over his shoulder and saw Elijah trying his hardest to stop their father from hurting him again. He also saw his sisters emerge from the house and they were crying, because they hated to see their father punish one of them. Normally, he would only threaten to whip them, but there had been a few times where he had whipped Klaus behind everyone's back.

However, not even Elijah was strong enough to stop their father and was knocked down to the ground, allowing their father to continue. At the third whip Klaus finally cried out in pain and he could feel blood trickling down his back. He closed his eyes and thought of Charlotte and he knew then from the bottom of his heart that she was worth all the pain.

"What is going on?" Esther suddenly asked as she emerged from the house as well. Klaus heard her gasp loudly and the sight of her beaten up son made her react immediately. She made her way to him and pushed her husband away with such force that he fell to the ground. "Oh, Niklaus! I am truly sorry… I… Please, come inside. Let me clean your wounds."

Klaus didn't hesitate to go inside, but he was too weak to walk by himself, so Elijah and Adrienne helped him inside, while Marco and Callum stayed behind to make sure that their father cooled down. He always did have a temper and although it wasn't uncommon for fathers to hit their children, then there still was a line of how much pain a father was allowed to cause his child.

By the time Klaus was all cleaned up and lay on his stomach on his bed again, it had become eerily quiet in the house. Their father had left to cool off somewhere else, his sisters and brothers were back in their bedchambers, and he… he was too focused on today's events to fall asleep even though his mother had told him to rest.

"Did you see her?" Elijah asked softly, lying restless in his bed across the room too.

"Charlotte?" Klaus inquired and Elijah nodded. "I did…"

He didn't say more, but he wanted to talk, because the talking was distracting him from the severe pain he was feeling.

Elijah almost read his thoughts and did just that. "What did you say to her?"

Klaus smiled weakly to himself at the thought of what he had said to her. They had talked about the bad things first, but then they ended up talking about peeing cats and about how he loved her.

"I told her that I love her."

Elijah's eyes widened at that, but a smile appeared on his lips. "Did she reply?"

Klaus nodded. "She said she loved me too. And then we talked about her leg-raping-and-peeing cat and your annoying horse, which by the way head-butted me quite recently."

His older brother chuckled and placed his hands behind his head, a smile still formed on his lips. Klaus watched him for a moment and wondered what was going through his head. Many things were going through his own head and one of those things was named Charlotte.

"I suppose you did not… um, do it then?" Elijah inquired.

"Sadly, no. But when the time is right we–"

"_Niklaus? Elijah? Are you up?_" Adrienne asked on the other side of the door.

"No, you can come in, sister," Klaus answered softly. Adrienne quietly opened the door and stepped inside. Her eyes were red from crying and she looked so remorseful. Klaus guessed that she was regretting all those times she had been so stern to him. She sat on his bed and began stroking his tangled, dark blonde hair. "You should be sleeping."

"So should you… Nick, I'm sorry I couldn't stop him, but… just try not to cross his way for the next couple of weeks."

Klaus snorted. "Adrienne, go to bed."

The harsh tone in his voice made Adrienne sigh and he saw tears brimming in her eyes. He sighed too and gave her hand a soft kiss to let her know that he wasn't angry with her. He just wanted to be alone and didn't need her to worry about him. Adrienne gave him a kiss on top of his head and gave Elijah a meaningful nod before she left their bedchamber.

"We are all just worried for you, Klaus." Elijah said.

"I know," he merely said and gently turned around, so he could lie on his back. It hurt like hell, but at least he was able fall asleep better now. "Thank you for helping me. I know you did your best to stop him."

Elijah nodded. "You know that I will always look out for you. Always."

Klaus smiled and could finally close his eyes, knowingly that his brother would always be there for him no matter what. So far he had always been there for him and he was thankful of that. If it had not been for Elijah he would have been dead a long time ago.

However, Klaus didn't stay asleep for long. He waited until Elijah had fallen asleep before he stood out of bed and carefully walked from one bedchamber to another, checking up on everyone of his siblings, until he reached his mother's bedchamber. She was still awake and crying so softly that it was almost inaudible.

It seemed that it wasn't just William's family who kept secrets…

**Thanks for reading and please review! :D**


	7. An Affair

**A/N: Hiii, OMG! One of my budgies just laid an egg! :D Sorry, I just had to say it. I'm sooooooo excited about it!**

**Anyway, thanks for the wonderful reviews, faves and alerts :D**

**Enjoy!**

**xoxo Ascha**

Chapter 7:

"_Give this to him, please. He deserves it after everything he has been through,_" a voice at the door said, waking up a tired and sore Klaus. He carefully sat up in his bed and opened the door enough for him to see that his mother was talking with William's father. "_Please, Esther. It's the least I can do for my… for _him_._"

Esther sighed heavily, but took the package and took a quick look around in the house to make sure that no one was watching before she leaned closer to him and gave him a kiss he didn't hesitate to prolong. Klaus's eyes widened in shock and he had to cover his mouth, so he wouldn't make a noise. He quietly closed the door again and turned his gaze to Elijah, who was still fast asleep in his bed, snoring as usual.

_For the love of God…_ he thought and rolled his eyes. He began poking Elijah on his chest, stomach and face, but the older brother was sleeping heavily. Since Klaus didn't dare to make any loud noises, he grabbed a pillow and hit him in his face with it, which immediately jolted Elijah awake. He quickly put his hand over his brother's mouth before he could utter a word and signed for him to be quiet. _I cannot believe that I am about to tell him this._

"Why are you up this early?" Elijah whispered quietly.

"Long story, but to make it short, then you are not going to believe what I just saw. I saw Mother kiss–"

"_Elijah? Are you awake?_" Marco interrupted.

Klaus clenched his teeth so he wouldn't cuss and get caught being out of bed when he was supposed to rest.

"Um, yes I am. Wait a minute and I will come," Elijah said and lowered his voice again. "Nik, please rest now. We can talk later."

"But–"

Elijah shook his head and stepped out of the bed, pulling on his clothes and boots. He left the bedchamber and stopped Klaus from following him, which only made Klaus more agitated. He had just witnessed his archenemy's father kiss _his_ mother! Of course he couldn't just ignore that, especially when he knew what William's family was hiding from the rest of the village.

What about the package?

Who was it meant for?

And why would his mother even kiss another man?

Klaus could guess the answer to the last question, but he didn't think that his mother would actually have an affair with William's father merely because she was unhappy. There had to be something more to it and then there was also the never-ending question that had been haunting him for the last three days that had nothing to do with this.

_Where is Charlotte?_

Klaus hoped that her parents hadn't decided to leave the village, because the thought of her leaving broke his heart. He wanted to go visit her, but his body was too sore to even walk. He could only go as far as to the kitchen and that alone was very exhausting. But at least his father hadn't laid a hand on him or even spoken a word to him. In fact, their father had been unusually quiet and only said something when he left the house to go somewhere else, but it was obvious to Klaus that his father still looked at him as nothing but a disappointment to him.

"Damn William, damn George, damn…"

"_Cussing as always, I see,_" Callum said, stepping inside his brother's bedchamber. Klaus rolled his eyes of him and wished that his oldest brother would stay with his wife instead of bothering his younger siblings nearly every day. "Don't roll your eyes of me, Nicky! I might not live here anymore, but I'm still your brother and I can tell that something is bothering you."

"Oh, really?" Klaus said sarcastically, pulling the covers over his head. Callum pulled them down again and ruffled his hair on purpose, forcing Klaus to sit up and look him in his eyes. "I don't need your pity, Callum. I already got enough from our sisters."

Callum sighed. "I'm not here to cheer you up or to say that I'm planning to kill Father – although that would be very tempting – but I'm here to give you this from your girlfriend."

Klaus blushed, but took the letter Callum gave him and saw that it was in fact from Charlotte. He was happy to hear from her, but he rather wanted to talk with her face-to-face.

"She heard what happened to you–"

"She-what? I don't want her to–!"

"Calm down, Nik. She felt guilty about it, but I told her that she shouldn't blame herself and neither should you. We all know that Father has a temper and that will never change."

Klaus cussed and wanted to hit someone badly – preferably his father – but he managed to keep his boiling anger under control.

"Thank you, Callum. Now shoo!"

Callum chuckled and ruffled his hair a bit more before leaving Klaus alone with the letter. Klaus made sure that the door was closed and that he was alone, so he wouldn't be disturbed. If this letter had bad news in it, then he wanted to deal with it alone.

_To my dearest Niklaus_

_I am truly sorry about all the pain and trouble I have caused you. You don't deserve to be punished for being in love with me and if me being here will get you in more trouble then I guess it is for the best if I–_

Klaus curled the paper into a ball and tossed it away, refusing to read more than that. He knew that if he continued reading, then he would feel a pain much worse than the pain his father caused him. He wished that he could turn back time and just run away with Charlotte the day he professed his love to her. He needed to talk with her and if she truly was doing what he thought she was about to do, then he wanted her to tell him that in person. He refused to accept this so easily, so he forced himself out of his bed and got dressed.

Klaus jumped out of the window in case his siblings were still home and snuck out to the stables even though his entire body was aching. He endured the pain, though, and rode to Charlotte's home. Every minute hurt like hell and there were a few times where he was forced to stop, because the pain became too much for him.

However, when Klaus finally arrived he found Charlotte sitting under an old white oak tree, playing with her annoying leg-raping cat. He couldn't stop himself from smirking as he limped up to her. The cat immediately began hissing at him and flashed its sharp teeth, which of course made Charlotte look up at what scared her cat.

"Nik…" she said, her cheeks immediately turning rosy.

"Charlotte…" Klaus said, not daring to step closer when her cat was looking so venomously at him with those green eyes.

Charlotte noticed this and smiled weakly. "He also hissed at William. Strange, huh?"

Klaus snorted and took a step to the side, but the cat kept glaring at him. He growled, which made it immediately run away like any normal cat would.

"I got your letter, but I didn't finish reading it because… it doesn't matter if you break up with me or move away to another village. My feelings for you will not change."

Charlotte looked almost relieved. "Truly?"

Klaus nodded and sat down next to her. He made sure that they weren't being watched and noticed that her father's horse wasn't there, which meant that he was somewhere else.

"And Callum was right. It wasn't your fault or mine. My father has always been like that… or at least after I was born. Perhaps it is my fault then…"

"No! Do not say that, Klaus. You didn't do anything wrong."

Klaus smiled and felt the pain in his body slowly fade away. He took her hand in his injured one and gave it a soft kiss.

"Thank you, my love."

Charlotte smiled sweetly. "For what"

He gave her a passionate kiss instead of answering her and pulled her into his embrace. Charlotte obviously wanted to show him how much she loved him, but she pulled away and nodded towards her home to indicate that they were probably being watched. Klaus didn't care and just picked her up into his arms, carrying her in to the woods somewhere nearby where they could be alone without being too far away. Charlotte gladly followed him and the moment they weren't visible to her mother anymore she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him fervently.

"I cannot believe that he actually…" Charlotte blinked brimming tears away and sighed, so he took her hands in his and held them close to his heart. "I love you so much, Klaus. More than you could possibly imagine."

"I know," he said and gently wiped the trickling tears away. "But trust me when I say this: the pain is _nothing_ compared to how I feel when I'm with you."

Charlotte wrapped her arms around him again and this time the kisses were so wild and so passionate that they fell to the ground. The kisses became more and more urgent and although both of them wanted today to be the day they were both ready, then destiny had other plans with them today, for Charlotte's mother suddenly called her daughter's name.

Reluctantly, Charlotte pulled away and looked up at Klaus, who lay shirtless on her, flashing his scars and bandages candidly. She let her fingers glide down his bruised chest and stopped when she reached the hem of his trousers.

"I know I'm very hard to resist, but do you _really_ want me to deflow–"

"Don't you dare say it, or I will cause you more pain!" Charlotte quickly interrupted.

Klaus chuckled and helped her up from the ground, brushing the dirt and leaves off her dark red dress. They heard another call for her, but Charlotte wanted to give him a proper goodbye kiss, so she pressed him against a tree and kissed him passionately.

"When will I see you again?" she asked, smiling brightly.

Klaus didn't know what had changed Charlotte so much and made her want to let go of the constant fear of being caught, but whatever the reason was then he didn't want to ruin it. He wanted her to be carefree and to be able to love him without fearing that her father would kill him for being with her. _He_ was supposed to worry about that and to make her happy, because when she was happy he had something that was worth fighting for.

"You will see me in your dreams tonight," Klaus answered teasingly. "And if not – then check if I'm hiding outside your window."

Charlotte blushed and gave him a shy kiss on his cheek before she hurried back to her mother, who was starting to become impatient and worried. Klaus watched her from afar as she talked with her mother and enjoyed the sight of her smiling and looking so in love.

_Who would have thought that she of all the women in the world could make me feel like that? _He thought and chuckled softly to himself. _No matter what happens, then I know she will always be worth it. Or perhaps I'm just being a love-struck fool?_

Klaus shook his head at the last part and went back to his horse that was waiting just as impatiently in the shadow of the oak tree. He discretely rode back home, but on his way home he passed no other than William's father. He stopped for a moment, wondering what to do, and decided to do what might become a huge mistake.

He decided to follow him.

**Thanks for reading and please review! :D**


	8. Werewolves

**A/N: Hii, sorry about the late update. I meant to update earlier, but... both of my laptops broke down and then when I borrowed my mom's hers broke down as well (lucky me!), but thanks for the lovely reviews, faves and alerts! :D**

**Enjoy!**

**xoxo Ascha**

Chapter 8:

The mysterious shape-shifter walked towards the direction of the lake, which made Klaus stop for a moment and wonder just what the man was up to. But he followed him at a safe distance and made sure to be as quiet as possible in case William's father was able to more than shifting into different animals. He also had questions about him and his mother's affair and wished to know how far they had gone in case they had done more than merely kissing every now and then.

At first Klaus had been afraid of knowing whether or not any of his siblings were not his true siblings, but only a result of an affair gone wrong and he mostly feared that he himself was a result of their affair. He had noticed all the strange looks the man had sent him and how he had talked about giving something to someone who could possibly be his son.

Klaus tried shaking his fears away, but the act made him loose focus on where he was walking and suddenly he felt himself fall over something hard. He had to clench his teeth to keep himself from swearing and quickly hid behind a bush before William's father spotted him. He knew that his knee was bleeding and that he had once again ruined his clothes, but he didn't care. Right now his biggest problem was to avoid getting caught by–

"Following me, are we?" a familiar voice sudden said.

Klaus gulped and looked up at the outreached hand from William's father, who stood before him with a curious look on his face. He didn't understand why the man wasn't angry with him for following him, but he guessed that he just didn't want to make him tell the truth about who had killed the animals at Charlotte's home.

"No!" Klaus lied, standing up on his own. He clenched his teeth again at the pain in his knee and took a step back when William's father reached out for his injured knee. "I am fine."

"Very well," he said, leaving the knee alone. "Why are you here, Niklaus? Have you not had enough trouble with your father as it is?"

"He can beat me all he wants to. I do not care about the pain…" Klaus began walking towards the lake and the mysterious skin-walker followed right beside him.

"I am truly sorry about the unnecessary punishment you were given. You did not deserve it, but my son did."

Klaus stopped abruptly, glaring now without knowing why. He just felt so angry inside. "You beat William?"

For a moment they stood still and merely stared at each other, examining each other facial expressions and trying to figure out what the other one was thinking. It was the shape-shifter who finally broke the stare and who looked away.

"Normally I do not approve of physical punishment, but I felt like William needed to understand that his… powers are not something he can use for his own personal gain. And especially not to hurt you in any ways." he said, making Klaus roll his eyes in annoyance of his cryptic answer and also because his biggest fear was becoming more and more real.

"Because you and my mother have an affair," he said and suddenly felt himself being pinned to a tree in an iron grip that was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It was because William and his father weren't normal. "So it is true then. You and my mother have been having an affair."

The shape-shifting man, who stood before him, let go of him and took a step back as if to examine his facial expression and body language.

"Have you told anyone about it?"

Klaus could hear the fear in his voice and knew that this secret relationship wasn't just something they had for fun. They were truly in love with each other like he was in Charlotte.

"No," he said quietly, but loud enough for his mother's lover to her. "I do not wish to see my mother unhappy, so I will not tell anyone anything. But I want to know the truth about why you risk getting yourself killed when you already have a family and are a shape-shifter."

The man smiled and said: "We prefer being called werewolves, Niklaus, and as for why I am putting my own life at risk, then you of all people should know why. I mean, you surely are putting your own life at risk by sneaking out to Charlotte when you know her father hates you."

Klaus did understand why he would do such a thing, but he knew that if his father found out about the affair then he wasn't just going to whip his mother or her lover. He was going to kill both of them and he might even kill his own children if they tried stopping him.

"You came by with a package quite recently… who is it for?"

This was the question he had dreaded to ask ever since he saw his mother kiss the father of his archenemy. He wasn't sure if he would get an answer, but a part of him wished that he didn't.

"Who do you reckon it is for, Niklaus? You overheard my conversation with your mother… surely you must have had any thoughts on who I talked about."

Klaus gulped and began feeling nauseous. He didn't want his suspicion to be confirmed, but he couldn't just ignore the fact that he or any of his brothers might be…

"_Niklaus! Niklaus!_" Elijah called loudly.

None of them said or did anything at first, but just stood there and stared at each other. But Klaus took a deep breath and tried shaking his worries away.

"I have to go." he said.

William's father nodded. "Of course. But I wish to talk with you tomorrow afternoon. Meet me at the lake and please come alone." he said.

Klaus wasn't sure what to say about that, so he merely nodded curtly and then ran back to his horse, which stood waiting outside the woods. He found Elijah waiting by the horse as well, a worried look on his face.

"There you are! Callum told me that you went to talk with Charlotte…" he said. "Are you mad? Do you want Father to kill you?"

Klaus smirked. "Why not? Why try avoiding the inevitable?" he asked nonchalantly.

Elijah groaned and held him in front of him, holding his shoulders in an iron grip so he was forced to look him in his eyes.

"Do not say that, Klaus. Once you turn 18, you can marry Charlotte and run away with her. You do not have to stay here. None of us do."

Klaus snorted. "Elijah, when will you get it? Father will never let me leave. He'd rather see me dead than to see me happy and far away from him. And if I leave he will start hurting you or even worse – our sisters! Do you want them to be hurt?"

Elijah didn't say anything, but Klaus already knew the answer to that. Of course Elijah didn't want to see any of his siblings be hurt and especially not his sisters. The only reason why Klaus was still letting his father hurt him was so he wouldn't hurt the others. He didn't care about the pain and was used to it, but the others weren't.

"Please, Niklaus. You have to be careful from now on."

Klaus sighed. "I know and I am. But Elijah, there is something I need to tell you. I tried telling it to you this morning and when you probably won't believe me when I say this, but…" He leaned closer to his brother and lowered his voice. "Mother is having an affair."

He quickly signed for Elijah to be quiet before Elijah could utter a word and signed for him to follow him, leading him to the beach where they could talk privately.

"Are you sure? Is she really…?"

Klaus nodded. "I am very certain. I will not tell who it is, because I promised not to and you will _never _mention this to anyone – not even our siblings. Especially since I dread that one of Mother's sons is a result of her affair."

Elijah stopped abruptly, his face turning pale with the thought of being someone else's son. Klaus already knew who the illegitimate son was, but he was still not ready to face the truth-

"What do we do about this? Do we stop them or…?" his brother asked.

"No, Mother deserves to be happy. I know it is dangerous to let it continue, but… it would be wrong of me to tell her not to have an affair when I am having a relationship with Charlotte." Klaus answered.

Elijah nodded understandingly. "And this son of theirs… who do you reckon it is?"

_Dear God… Of all the questions he could ask he just had to ask that one, _Klaus thought and cussed mentally.

"I do not know." It was a lie, but he just couldn't get himself to say it.

Elijah frowned. "Is it me? Niklaus, if it is me then I want you to tell me. I–"

"It is not you, Elijah. That's for sure."

That left himself, Marco and Callum. He knew that it wouldn't take long for Elijah to figure out who it was, because Elijah had always been the smart one in the family.

"Do you believe it is you?" he asked.

This time it was Klaus who stopped walking abruptly and as much as he wished not to believe it, then he had to face the truth sooner or later. Therefore he nodded and confirmed his own worst fear. Although, it did explain why his real father had always looked at him like that and perhaps also why William had been so mean to him for as long as he remembered,, then there was still something that nagged him.

Was he a shape-no a _werewolf _as well?

"Niklaus, even if it is true and you are… my half-brother, then it will never change our bond or friendship. I am still your brother – even if we do not share the same father." Elijah said.

"And the others? Do you reckon they will accept me too? I might be a bastard…" Klaus said worriedly.

"Of course they will accept you. We all care very much about you and know that you will always be there for us."

Klaus was silent and didn't say another word, until they reached the beach, but even then he wasn't too happy about talking about him maybe being related to his archenemy. Even the thought about being William's brother seemed so ludicrous that it made Klaus laugh and believe that William's father had made a mistake.

"Does Charlotte know?" Elijah asked worriedly as they threw rocks and shells back into the blue ocean.

"No, I was too busy trying to save my relationship. She wanted to break up with me in a letter, so…"

"So you went to her and what? Changed her mind in a probably inappropriate way?" Elijah teased.

Klaus chuckled and shook his head. "If you want to know whether or not I deflowered her, then the answer is sadly no."

Elijah snorted. "Now why do I find that hard to believe? I mean, we are talking about you, who practically deflowered nearly every single girl in the village…"

The two brothers laughed and Klaus was happy that he had run into Elijah today, because he needed to talk with his best friend and Elijah had taken his worries away just like that without him needing to ask him to do it.

"How are things going with you and Lady Anna? Is she still a pain?" he asked curiously.

Elijah groaned. "Very much indeed. But I finally went to her and told her in a polite way that I was not interested in her." he answered.

Klaus smiled. "And what did she say to that?"

Elijah chuckled and sighed. "It only made her want me more."

**Thanks for reading and please review! ^_^**


	9. Precious Gifts

**A/N: Hellooo, thanks for the lovely reviews, faves and alerts and I still haven't figured out if this mini-story will become a full story or just a long mini-story, but I'll let you know when I do xD**

**Ohh, and sorry about the... well, tackiness of this chap, but... I'm such a romantic! ^_^**

**Enjoy!**

**xoxo Ascha**

Chapter 9:

Charlotte was sleeping peacefully in her bed when Klaus snuck inside her bedchamber and he quietly snuck into her bed as well, enjoying the sight of her looking so carefree and at peace. He gently brushed a lock of curly dark brown hair behind off her face and gave her cheek a kiss. Instinctively, Charlotte smiled in her sleep and said his name softly, making him smile weakly. He gave her another kiss – this time on her lips and she instinctively tugged herself close to his body without knowing what she was actually doing.

"Charlotte…" he murmured in her ear. "Charlotte, wake up, my love."

When Charlotte didn't wake up he suddenly got an idea that he knew both Charlotte and Elijah would find highly inappropriate. He wasn't going to do something big, but he just wanted to check how fast asleep she was, so he moved his fingers gently up her leg and under the fabric of her white chemise, moving further and further up to–

Klaus suddenly felt a knee jam up between his legs and felt himself being pushed off her body and down on the floor. Charlotte quickly lit a candle and groaned when she saw that it was just Klaus, who had entered her bedchamber.

"Did you have to hit me right _there_?" Klaus whined as he scrambled back up on the bed, still clutching his sore groin.

Charlotte giggled softly and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry, Nik, but that is what happens when you go too far without my permission." she whispered.

Klaus sighed and was quiet for a moment, listening carefully if Charlotte's defence mechanism had woken up her parents. He couldn't hear that anyone had awakened and there was a reason for that. No one besides her and the servants were home.

"They went to visit my sick aunt in the neighbouring village," Charlotte explained. "I am all alone tonight."

"To my luck…" Klaus said, smirking mischievously. Charlotte rolled her eyes of him and touched his cheek, her touch so soft that Klaus completely forgot why he came in the first place. He wanted to kiss her, so he did and pushed her gently back down on the mattress, ignoring the pain that was still throbbing in his groin. "I've missed you so much, love."

Charlotte smiled against his lips and he felt her fingers bury in his dark blonde hair. It felt so good that he didn't even sense that Charlotte had rolled him under her and now sat on his waist, looking down at him with a content look on her beautiful face.

"I… I think I am ready," she said and for a moment Klaus frowned, but then he understood and all of a sudden he felt nervous. This wasn't some young lady he had found at the inn or at the market. This was Charlotte – the love of his life – and she was giving away one of her most precious gifts to him. "I know you want to, so I will not keep you waiting for any longer and if… if something happens to either one of us, then we will always have this precious moment to look back on. Always."

Klaus sat up with Charlotte still on his lap and just looked into her eyes for a few minutes, trying his best to comprehend what they could do if he agreed this time. But he could tell by the way she looked at him and the way she smiled that she truly was ready, so he did not reject her again. Instead, he kissed her passionately and she responded his kiss with such passion that he again forgot about why he came.

They took their time and savoured every second of their time alone together, but Klaus also just didn't want to rush a moment like this. He wanted Charlotte to be able to remember this as a happy moment in her life and not a tear and pain filled one. He made sure to explore every inch of her exposed body with his lips and fingers as more and more clothes came off. Charlotte never once told him to stop, but there were moments were he could tell that the engulfing feeling they both felt became too much for her, so he slowed down even further.

And then… then it finally happened and Klaus too became so engrossed in the engulfing feeling that he could barely take it. He made love to her with such passion, tenderness and love that made him feel like they were completely alone in the world and that nothing could stop them.

Absolutely nothing.

Klaus lost track of time and eventually gave up keeping a track on it even though he was supposed to be home before morning and back in his bed if he wanted to avoid being punished again. Elijah had promised to cover for him in case he returned late, but he was afraid that Elijah wouldn't be able to do it or that his father-no, _step_father would find out that he had left anyway, which reminded Klaus of why he actually went to visit Charlotte. He didn't want to ruin the moment, so he kept it to himself for a little longer, until they were both too exhausted to move.

"I still don't see why women reckon you are so good in bed…" Charlotte teased, tugging herself close to him again.

"Well, if that is the case, then I have certainly failed as your lover," Klaus said sarcastically and kissed her warm and damp forehead. She looked more content than he had ever seen her before and her heart was pounding fast inside her bare chest. "Was it as good as you expected?"

Charlotte shook her head. "It was much better."

He smirked and embraced her tightly, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. He knew that he had to go soon and to tell her the truth about his parents' affair, but he was too tired to do any of those things, so instead he fell asleep with her in his embrace and spend the rest of the night there.

* * *

><p>The morning came and passed, and they continued to sleep in each other's embrace, but when it became noon Klaus was awakened by the sound of a familiar voice calling Charlotte's name from the entrance. When he realized who had come home he jolted out of her bed, waking up Charlotte as he did, who rubbed her eyes tiredly and looked confusedly at him.<p>

"Your father is home," Klaus whispered through clenched teeth. Charlotte's eyes widened and she quickly pulled her chemise on, then went to help him find his clothes that were spread almost everywhere in her bedchamber. But Klaus could hear that George was almost at her door, so he just grabbed his shirt and boots in his hands and jumped out of the window, holding on to his trousers that were almost falling off. "Meet me at the orchard later this afternoon!"

Charlotte nodded and quickly closed her window, watching Klaus as he ran as fast as he could towards the woods and disappeared. Klaus couldn't remember the last time he had fled this fast from a girl's home after taking her most precious gift, but he always found the running away very exciting and amusing as well.

However, Klaus remembered that he had to be home before his stepfather noticed that he had been out all night, so he never stopped running with his clothes in his hands – even when he was close of dropping his trousers and tripped. But he eventually made it home and almost flew in to his bedchamber as Elijah was distracting his father just outside the room. He quickly pulled on his shirt, boots and belt, and ran his fingers through his messy hair before his father suddenly entered the bedchamber.

"Ah, Niklaus… I am glad to see that you are awake," his stepfather said, not noticing all that his stepson was panting slightly. But the reason why he didn't notice it was because he was avoiding any eye contact with him. "I need you to give this to William's father – without getting yourself in trouble this time, okay son?"

Klaus frowned, because his stepfather rarely called him his son, but he took the package he was given and nodded understandingly.

"Oh, and Elijah. I have a special assignment for you tonight. You are going hunting for the beasts that killed George's animals."

Klaus instinctively gulped, but he didn't say anything and neither did Elijah. The two brothers parted and after getting a quick breakfast Klaus went to the woods where he knew his real father would be. He wasn't too fond of talking with him about the fact that he was the result of an affair his mother had a long time ago and that apparently was still on.

When he arrived at the lake he found his father throwing rocks in the water with an almost unnatural force that no ordinary man was able to possess. But Klaus reminded himself of that his father was not normal and that made one of _them._

A beast.

"I have a package for you, um… sir?" Klaus said hesitantly, not sure of what to call his father.

His father chuckled. "You can call me your father if you want to, but just remember to do it when we are alone. However, if not you may call me Wilhelm." he said.

Klaus smiled and sat down on a big rock, his father taking a seat next to him as he handed him the package. Wilhelm didn't even bother to find out what was inside the package, because he already seemed to know what was inside it.

"Well, _Wilhelm_, I have a few questions for you… first off – will I transform into a werewolf at the next full moon?"

That was what he had dreaded the most – especially, since his 18th birthday was situated on the day of the next full moon.

Wilhelm shook his head. "You may have my werewolf gene, but you have to trigger your curse before you turn and that only way to do that is… to kill someone. It doesn't matter if it happens by accident or if you do it on purpose. A kill is a kill."

Klaus frowned. "So you and William have killed someone?"

His father wasn't too happy about admitting it, but he nodded. "By accident, yes. I regret it every day, whilst William… well, he quite enjoys his new powers."

"Figures…"

Wilhelm didn't comment on that, but pulled a ring with his own family crest on it out of his pocket and handed it to Klaus.

"You could give it to Charlotte as an engagement ring if you are considering of marrying her." he suggested.

Klaus smiled. "I am actually, but… I am afraid of leaving the village because of…"

"Because of your father's… _outbursts_?"

Klaus nodded. "You saw what he did to me. I cannot let that happen to my siblings or my mother."

Wilhelm nodded understandingly. "You are a very kind-hearted and brave young man, Niklaus. I am truly proud of you."

Another thing his stepfather rarely said to him. It made Klaus feel happy to know that he had made at least one of his father's proud. It was at times like these that he genuinely wished that he lived with Wilhelm's family or that Wilhelm was the father of his other siblings.

"My father and Elijah are going hunting tonight, so you better tell William to stay at home and on the night of the next full moon too."

"Of course. Thank you for warning me. I know that I am making you hide a lot of things from your own family, but it is necessary if we want to stay here. I have been careful of not getting caught ever since the day you were born, Nik. I wanted to see you grow up and I want to be there for you the next time your father becomes angry again. I want to be there for all of your siblings."

Klaus smiled weakly and looked at his father for a moment. Even now as he just looked at him he could tell that he had inherited a lot of his father's traits. They both had blue eyes and the darkness in his blonde hair had without a doubt come from his father too, but his stepfather wouldn't know that since he had dark hair too.

"I have another question… let's say I trigger my curse and… well, become a werewolf. What kind of powers would I get then?" he asked curiously, wanting to change the subject badly.

Wilhelm raised an eyebrow. "I don't want you to trigger your curse on purpose, because there is a reason why it is called a curse, but essentially your strength is enhanced and you have super speed. You also heal very quickly if you get hurt and can run from one end of the village to another without getting tired. But I'm warning you, Niklaus, do _not_ trigger your curse."

Klaus groaned mentally and thought: _What I wouldn't do to kick William's ass…_

**Thanks for reading and please review! :D**


	10. Bad News

**A/N: Hiii, sorry about the long wait, but I've been having a discussion with myself and the characters of this story of whether I should make this into a full story or not and this is what we ended up with:**

Klaus - "You should definitely turn it into a full story or else I'll compel you to do it AND to make me a sandwich while being soaked in blood and wearing a black bikini!"

Me - "..."

Elijah - "What Klaus was trying to say so... elegantly was that he REALLY wants you to continue the story and let him be in love with Charlotte."

Charlotte - "I don't know... I could really need a little vacation away from Nik. He can be so bloody annoying sometimes..."

Klaus - "WHAT? Someone is so not getting her goodnight kiss tonight..."

Me - "... Yeah, alright, but that still doesn't help me with my decision. But since you two lovebirds obviously have some issues, then I'll talk with Elijah instead. Btw, I actually think that you, Elijah, deserve some love too now. That annoying girl Anna isn't really who I really had in mind for you."

Elijah - "Thank you, Ascha! And I personally think you should continue it."

Klaus - "YAY! Now I'm a happy hybrid again!"

Me, Elijah and Charlotte - "..."

**Enough rambling! Yes, I am going to turn this story into a full one and I already have in mind what is going to happen, so thank you for the lovely reviews, faves and alerts that keep on coming! :D**

**Enjoy!**

**xoxo Ascha**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 10:<span>

"I trust your father did not find out about your little late night visit?" Charlotte said worriedly, resting her head on his shoulder.

Klaus shook his head, brushing a lock of her curly dark brown hair behind her ear. He kissed her, first tenderly, then deepened it and noticed a longing desire inside her that he felt too. He had thought a lot about their first night together and often wondered what would happen if anyone found out that he had taken her most precious gift.

"Charlotte…" he murmured between the deep kisses and forced himself to pull away before they ended up nude under the big apple tree. "I… have not been completely honest with you. Recently, I have been meeting William's father – Wilhelm – and he has revealed something very important about my… heritage."

Charlotte looked worriedly around although they were completely alone and it was too dark for anyone to see anything, but she still took his hand and lead him back to her home where they could talk privately. Her father was out travelling again with her mother this time, so she was all alone and had been visited daily by the other families in the village – including Klaus' family.

However, Klaus had been too busy working lately, so it was first now he could visit her. He was more focused on visiting her than on planning his 18th birthday party, which was starting to annoy mainly his mother Esther, who still knew about his secret relationship with Charlotte.

"There," Charlotte said, closing the door to her bedchamber behind her. "What did Sir Wilhelm reveal to you?"

Klaus took her hand and pulled her down onto his lap, wondering slightly if he should truly break his promise to Wilhelm and tell Charlotte the truth too or risk her stop loving him now that she was going to hear the truth about what he was.

"I… caught my mother kissing with Wilhelm some time ago," he said almost inaudible, but loud enough for Charlotte to hear it. She gasped and he felt her grip on his hand tighten. "I went to confront Wilhelm about it and it seems that this… affair has been going on for many years. About 18 years to be exact."

"Oh, good heavens! And your father? Does he know?" she asked worriedly.

Klaus smirked. _Oh, he knows alright, _he thought. "Charlotte, there is no easy way to say this, but… Wilhelm is my biological father."

Any doubt about Charlotte's eyes becoming wider was washed away when he saw her facial expression, but he wasn't done yet. He had only told her half the truth and the second half was a lot more shocking.

"Is it really… true?"

He nodded. "And I would truly appreciate if you did not tell anyone about it."

"Of course! I know that your father will-well, your stepfather will disown you then."

_Precisely… well, more than he usually does._

"It must have been such a shock for you. I mean, you _hate_ William and then you find out that he is…" Charlotte shook her head, unable to finish the sentence.

Klaus sighed, but he was tired of thinking about his real father, any of his siblings and about what could happen if all his secrets were revealed to the villagers. They would hunt him and his father's family down, until they were sure that every one of them were dead and then he wouldn't be able to be there for his siblings – especially not Elijah.

"Niklaus, I have something I need to tell you too," Charlotte suddenly said, taking Klaus' attention away from his worries. He looked up at her and could see tears in her eyes. "Once my parents return from their trip we are… moving. To another village, that is."

Klaus' eyes widened and he nearly dropped her on the floor as he stood up. He just stood there and stared incredulously at her for the first couple of minutes, completely unable to speak or think straight. His heart felt like it was twisting and turning inside his chest, so he decided to sit down again before he would faint.

"When are you parents returning?" he asked without meeting her eyes.

Charlotte sighed heavily and he saw tear drops trickle down her cheeks, but he couldn't make himself touch her or even look at her for that matter.

"The day after tomorrow," she answered softly. "I think… I think that my father knows about us. He has seemed so… angry at me lately and yesterday after you left he told me that we were moving. I'm so sorry, Niklaus. I tried to–"

"Charlotte, no! I am not going to let you leave. Not… not after everything we have been through."

They both became silent for a moment, but Klaus knew that this wasn't Charlotte's fault. It was her father's, which only made him so much angrier. Charlotte noticed the anger and sorrow in his face, so she cupped his face in her hands and stroked his cheeks gently.

"I will always love you, Nik. Always. And when I turn 18 I will leave Father and come back to you. Just wait and see." Charlotte said softly.

"Two years…" he said softly, but nodded and tried smiling. "Okay. I will wait for you too. I do not care if I have to wait for the rest of my life to see you again. But… your father will without a doubt try marrying you off with someone. I know he will."

Charlotte shook his head, smiling sweetly. "I will scare them away like I tried scaring you away. My father actually had plans of marrying me off to you before the animals suddenly began dying. That was why I was so… well, _mean_ to you."

Klaus chuckled and pushed her down onto her bed, kissing her gently on her cheek, jaw and neck before meeting her eyes again.

"And here I always thought that it was because you secretly had a crush on me…" he teased.

Charlotte blushed, but began unbuttoning his shirt much to his surprise. Not that he minded it at all, but he just didn't expect her to be so risky. If someone caught them together, then…

"One last time," Charlotte pleaded. "I do not care if anyone sees us. Not anymore."

Klaus was surprised by that too, but he didn't want to lose his only time with her, so he sat up and took his shirt off, letting her explore every inch of his muscular body with her soft fingertips. He felt warmth spread inside his chest and his heart began beating faster as she gently moved her fingers down his chest, following the lines of his muscles as she did so. She kissed his chest softly – just right where his heart was – and then lay down on the bed, letting him touch her too.

"This reminds me of that time when you stole my clothes and made me run naked around in the forest…" Klaus said, taking her hands in his and kissing them both.

Charlotte grinned. "Oh, _that_. Well, someone had to do it. You were just an annoying and bratty teenager back then. Now… now you are soon a man. But unfortunately I will not be there to congratulate you." she said and sighed.

"It does not matter. Another year is nothing compared to how I feel about you."

She giggled. "You sound so… un-Klaus-like when you say all those sweet things to me."

Klaus grinned. "I know. I am a love-struck fool, but I mean every word."

Charlotte wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed him down on the bed, kissing him and giving in to the burning desire inside both of them. It was less terrifying now that Klaus had already taken her most precious gift and they were both able to enjoy the intimate time together much better than they could before. It was like there was no tomorrow, no world outside the house and like they were free to be together without fearing the consequences.

Even as they accidentally knocked over a vase and tumbled down from the bed in a moment of deep passion they continued to make love, because they both knew deep inside that this might be their last time ever together. Charlotte might be able to scare a few men away, but Klaus knew that her father was stubborn and he would marry his daughter off to a man against her will.

But although he knew that it was wrong of him to take her innocence, then he rather wanted to be the one than a cruel and uncaring old man, who only loved her for her beauty. And even if Charlotte was disowned by her own parents, then he would go find her and marry her himself.

However, as much as Klaus wanted to stay and spend the night with Charlotte, then he knew that it would be too hard for him to say goodbye to her and to know that it would be the last time he said it, so after he had reminded her of how much he loved her and she had fallen asleep safely in his arms, he snuck out of her bed and quietly, but reluctantly left her home.

It was nearly midnight by the time he returned to his own, but he didn't go inside immediately. Instead he sat down on the porch and just stared out into the darkness of the night, wondering how his life would be without Charlotte. Two years were a long time for someone like him, but he was determined to wait for her – even if she was unable to return until after she was married.

"_Niklaus?_" a sudden voice said.

Klaus gulped when he recognized it and slowly turned his head to his stepfather, who walked calmly towards him. He feared that his stepfather would hurt him again for being awake and outside so late at night, but to his surprise his stepfather said nothing. He merely sat down next to him and turned his eyes up towards the starry sky. Klaus didn't know whether to be frightened or confused, but he noticed that his father was looking very pale as if something had drained all life out of him and it made him worry if something had happened while he was out.

"You will soon turn 18," his stepfather said without meeting his eyes. "I know that you have still been fooling around with George's daughter and although I do not approve of such inappropriate behaviour, then I have seen how you look at each other. You are in love, yes?"

Klaus felt a twinge in his heart, but he knew that Charlotte would soon have to move anyway, so he nodded and confirmed his stepfather's suspicion.

"She means everything to me, Father. Like Mother does to you." he said without knowing why.

His stepfather finally looked at him and sighed. "Although you and I have never… been on good terms, then I take something like this seriously. If you are serious about marrying Charlotte and wish to have her as your wife, then–"

"It will not matter, Father. Charlotte is moving soon with her parents to another village. I will never see her again. Just as you wanted."

Klaus stood up and walked inside. He was too upset to talk with his stepfather and he didn't care about him right now. He had never cared about him and his new behaviour towards him did not change how he had in the past treated him or any of his other siblings badly for that matter.

So he walked in to his bedchamber and took off all his clothes except for his trousers, trying not to wake up Elijah who was sleeping peacefully in the bed on the other side of the room. But Elijah woke up anyway and he saw the hurt look in Klaus' face, which immediately alarmed him and made him jump out of his bed and go to him.

"She told you the bad news?" Elijah asked anxiously.

Klaus nodded. "She promised to return when she turns 18, but… I do not think that I will ever see her again, Elijah." he answered quietly.

Elijah sighed heavily. "She will return, you will see. I know that Charlotte loves you too and she is too strong-willed to let herself be married off to someone else – especially someone she does not love or care about."

"And what if she does not? What if she forgets about me and moves on?"

His brother growled and grabbed him by his shoulders to force him to look into his eyes. "Niklaus, listen to me! If you truly do love her then you will not let it happen and neither will she. You just have to be patient and focus on other things… like your heritage."

Klaus nodded. He still had many unanswered questions and he was having an internal debate with himself of whether or not to tell William that they were brothers or if he should actually trigger his curse, so he would have the advantages of a werewolf…

**Thanks for reading and please review! :D**


	11. Drink Up

**A/N: Hii, I'm SO SO SO sorry about the lateness and shortness of this chapter, but Klaus will explain why this happened...**

**Me: Go ahead, hybrid. Tell them what you did or I will change this to a Charlotte/Elijah fic!**

**Klaus: NO! Okay, okay! I... kindda kidnapped and seduced your muse, so you couldn't write anything.**

**Me: And what did you learn by doing so?**

**Klaus: That you couldn't update faster and I therefore couldn't get Charlotte back faster... sorry.**

**Me: Hm... you think I should forgive him, Eli?**

**Elijah: Nope, let him suffer for a bit longer.**

**Klaus: O_o BUT BROTHER, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HELP ME!**

**Elijah: Meh...**

**Klaus: T_T**

**Me: ...**

**Anyway! Thanks for the lovely reviews, faves and alerts! :D**

**Enjoy!**

**xoxo Ascha**

Chapter 11:

Klaus sat in his bedchamber, watching his stepfather Mikael chopping wood, and thought about the possibility of triggering his own curse, so he could use the extra strength to overthrow Mikael and be the one in charge of the household. His mother could finally be happy with Wilhelm, his siblings would have the chance to be with whoever they wanted to be with and he could go rescue Charlotte from being married off to another man, whom she did not love.

"Happy birthday, brother," Elijah said, but Klaus didn't turn his gaze away from the window. He was so deep in his thoughts that it would take a punch or a pinch in his arm to take his attention away from Mikael, so that was what Elijah did. He pinched Klaus, making his younger brother turn his gaze to him and glare. "I said 'happy birthday'."

"Thank you," Klaus muttered and groaned. "18 years old now and Father still decides what I can and cannot do."

Elijah sighed and sat down next to Niklaus. "Are you going to look miserable throughout your entire birthday and sulk over Charlotte leaving?"

"Yes." It was an easy and defiant answer, but Elijah expected that.

Without any warning whatsoever, he lifted Klaus up and threw him over his shoulder, carrying him out of the bedchamber against his will and out to Marco, who stood ready with ropes to tie his younger brother's hands and legs together. He, Marco and Callum tied their brother up and blindfolded him, but as if that wasn't enough, then they took him somewhere unknown.

When they finally removed the blindfold and the ropes, Klaus realized that he was in the local inn and the people were shouting 'happy birthday' to him. His sisters were also there and they fetched him a large goblet of mead, which he gladly emptied in a few seconds. He had to admit that he was happy that his brothers and sisters had arranged a party for him to distract him from his sorrow, but he wasn't sure if he would be able to get over the fact that Charlotte was gone.

"Nik, I know you miss Charlotte but she will be back. Until then you deserve to have fun and to enjoy that you are now an adult." Marco said.

"Like you did to Charlotte's 16th birthday party?" Klaus teased.

Marco blushed, but left and Elijah soon came with another goblet of mead for him as well as a package Klaus recognized as the one Wilhelm had given to Esther. He immediately opened the package and found a sketchbook along with some charcoal that had belonged to his father. The sketchbook already had a few drawings inside it of his mother in her younger days, him as a child in various situations and some of the lake he used to go to.

"Your father wishes you happy birthday too," Elijah whispered, nodding towards the table in the back where Klaus spotted his father. His father raised his goblet and so did Klaus, feeling genuinely happy of finding out that he had a father who actually cared about him. "Drink up, brother! By the time this party is done I want to see you throwing up in the neighbour's bushes again. I mean, we cannot be having you sulking all night when you should be celebrating."

Klaus laughed. "Yes, that is true. But I will only drink up if you do as well." he said.

Elijah didn't hesitate to do it and Klaus soon discovered why. Lady Anna was at the party and she was looking for him. He nearly choked on the mead as he burst out laughing and made Elijah look towards Anna's direction. Elijah groaned when he saw her again and tried hiding behind one of their other brothers.

"If she asks, then say that I went to the beach or something!" he said as he quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Klaus rolled his eyes of his older brother, but continued drinking and watched the other guests dance, drink and socialize, wondering how this party would have been had Charlotte been there. No, he couldn't let himself keep thinking about her. It was making him miss her even more and he could barely handle missing her as much as he did now.

"Ah, Niklaus!" he suddenly heard a familiar voice say.

This time it was Klaus who groaned at the sight of Lady Anna and he tried pretending he hadn't heard her, so he could leave without seeming rude, but she caught up with him before he could get to the massive crowd of guests.

"Niklaus, there you are! Firstly, congratulations with turning 18 and secondly, have you seen Elijah? I swear I saw him somewhere in here. I think that he is avoiding me, because he does not like me anymore." Anna said in her usual high-pitched voice.

Klaus forced a smile on his lips and tried hard not to tell her the truth as rude or harmful it might be for her to hear it.

"Actually, I think I saw him leave a few minutes ago. He said something about going to the beach so he could watch the stars." he lied.

Anna suddenly smiled brightly as if he'd said that Elijah wanted to marry her. "Oh, how romantic! He probably wanted me to join him and then… then he is surely going to propose to be. Do you think that is why he is there?"

Klaus was trying hard not to laugh or say something cruel, but since he couldn't make himself confirm or deny it, then he just shrugged. Anna left anyway and after she'd left, Elijah returned to his brother, looking more or less relieved.

"What did you say to her?" he asked worriedly.

"I just told her that you might be at the beach and somehow she twisted it into a proposal. That woman is indeed crazy," Klaus answered and chuckled. "Perhaps I should find you a new girlfriend, do you agree?"

Elijah nodded and took another swig of his goblet before looking around in the inn. Klaus couldn't stop himself from laughing of the sight of Elijah actually looking for a girlfriend, because normally they would find him. But it might have something to do with the fact that Elijah had emptied almost four goblets of mead so far, so he was starting to get really drunk and the alcohol helped him let go of his inhibitions.

"Brother, look! Now _she_ is truly beautiful!" Klaus said, pointing towards a young raven-haired woman, who stood on the other side of the inn and was minding her own business.

"Wauw… she _is_ beautiful," Elijah said, looking like a love-struck fool. Klaus found it very amusing at first, but then he began thinking about how silly he must have looked every time he talked about Charlotte or just thought about her. "Wish me good luck, brother."

"Oh, I do not think you will need luck to get her. What you need is more mead," Klaus said, pouring more mead into Elijah's goblet. "Drink up, brother."

Elijah took a large swig of his goblet and then went with determined steps to the young woman, nearly tripping over his own feet on the way. Klaus took a large swig of his own goblet and watched his brother as he tried wooing the woman.

It seemed to be working at first, but then the woman's husband suddenly appeared and he was everything else but pleased about Elijah flirting with his wife. He grabbed Elijah by his throat, so Klaus jumped out of his seat and hurried to help him before he got hurt. He grabbed the man by his shirt and punched him so hard that he felt his own hand ache with pain. But the man was still standing, so they both agreed that it was time to leave and ran as fast as they could out of the inn.

When they finally got outside they decided to go for a walk in the woods even though they were both drunk and had no inhibitions that kept them from doing something reckless or stupid.

But when they arrived at the lake Klaus always went to, a brilliant idea suddenly came to Klaus. He began pulling his clothes off until he was butt-naked and then ran out into the cool water, jumping into it with a loud splash. Elijah grinned and soon followed suit, jumping in with him, but he kept his trousers on as the honourable man he always was.

"Normally, I would really not advise you to do this, but I am so drunk that I do not care at all whether or not I get a cold... How is your hand, my little bro?" Elijah asked, swimming closer to Klaus who was floating on his back.

"It's sore, but not broken. Or at least I don't think so," Klaus answered and chuckled. The two brothers were quiet for a moment, but then Klaus was reminded of someone he missed and the smile disappeared from his face. "I've missed this – being single, carefree and of course spending time with you. Is it bad of me to miss my old life?"

Elijah looked at him and sighed. "Personally, I would say no, but I also think that you shouldn't give up that easily on Charlotte. The two of you will be together one day and get the life you want, but only if you keep fighting and never give up on your dreams."

Klaus smiled weakly. "And what about you? Surely, Father wants you to marry soon and continue our 'proud' heritage like Callum and Marco are."

"Ah, yes, I have heard him talking with Lady Anna's parents. I need to find someone soon or else he will find one for me. One I do not love and can barely stand talking with."

_Oh, the "great" life of a landowner's son! How overrated it is, _Klaus thought and shook his head. He began swimming back to theshore and pulled on his trousers, shivering slightly as he felt a cool breeze crash over him like a wave. _I hope Charlotte is doing better than I am right now…_

**Thanks for reading and please review! :D**


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